EricHoefler.com

I started thinking about why I blog after following a two-part discussion¹ about the purpose of blog reading and writing over at think:lab.²

I have a few definite thoughts about that discussion, but most of them sound to me like general advice on being an effective reader and writer (and so not worth repeating here).

I will say this, though: the “echo chamber” effect that Christian mentions should be a genuine concern. It is important to deal with the ideas of others in your own writing, to clarify your thinking and hopefully to extend or challenge the discussion (hence the title of this post), but that kind of writing still needs to be informed by other sources (online or off).

This “echo chamber” effect can occur not only among members of a particular community or blogging “subgroup,” but also on an individual blog. There’s a fine line between developing a theme over time and becoming redundantly irrelevant.

I took stock of my own short-lived blogging to give myself a redundancy check. I found themes, and maybe some repetition. I also found a new question: given that blogs evolve over time, and that one way an effective blog maintains readers is by posting regularly, at what point do former posts lose currency? Put differently: if I have some good writings that happened a while ago, but are still relevant, what’s the best way to handle them?

Certainly, I could write new pieces about similar issues and reference the old writings … but that can sometimes be merely self-serving. And how many times does anyone want to read “as I said before”?

This question takes us back to purpose, I suppose: why am I writing this thing? If it were just a journal, I wouldn’t care. But blogging (that’s worth reading) isn’t just a journal. And all blogs are promoting or selling something (just as all writing is persuasive at heart). So if, for example, I’m promoting a certain philosophical approach to education and learning (namely, my own), how do I make the best use of older writings that are still relevant to that purpose?

Any thoughts …?

1. Also spurred by discussions surrounding two posts at Dangerously Irrelevant [back]
2. In short, Christian cited an article by Steve Borsch and then argued that educators shouldn’t be blogging merely because they are educators. He also urged online readers to “dump [their] edu-blogside bar links” and “start over,” identifying blogs worth reading outside the “edu-blogger universe.” Instead, blog writers and readers should let their passions guide them.

   Because we are a heartbeat away from the echo chamber being stuffed to the gills with edu-blogger schools of fish and no room to make meaning of it. think:lab: Stop Blogging Because You’re An Educator

   Dan took objection on two counts. First, that Christian’s initial post seemed a bit removed from Borsch’s point:

   His point seems to be, blogs are the new resume, so let’s not clutter ours with worthless content. That just feels like Blogging 101, though. think:lab: Stop Blogging Because You’re An Educator

   Second,that “passion” is already the driving force, and that we should instead be thinking about more professionalism and better writing.

   Quality writing, quality thinking, and a quality product will always rise to the top faster than passion. think:lab: Stop Blogging Because You’re An Educator

   Christian concedes much of this and ends with:

   … if we had to pick one over the other, and we want at the end of the day to be better writers, better thinkers, and offer a better product, I suggest that we say to potentially new bloggers, “Blog because you are passionate. Let your profession follow.” think:lab: Part 2: “Stop Blogging Because You’re an Educator”
   [back]